A female Filipino national was among those who died due to extreme heat in this year's hajj, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Friday, June 21.
DFA Undersecretary Jose Eduardo de Vega said the victim was based in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. She died of heatstroke in Mecca.
About 5,100 Filipinos attended this year's hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims have to go once in their life.
"DFA had sent a team to Saudi Arabia to assist our Embassy in Riyadh to monitor and assist our Hajj pilgrims this year," de Vega said in a text message.
Hundreds of hajj pilgrims reportedly died due to extreme heat as temperature soared to over 50 degrees celsius in Saudi.